Christoph Schneider

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Schneider's path to Rammstein began in East Berlin, where he was born to an opera director father and a music teacher mother. After initially learning trumpet at a special music school, he became fascinated by the drums and built his own kit from tin cans and buckets. He bought his first real drumkit at age 14. He left school at 16 to work as a radio and telecommunications technician, then served his national service with the East German Army from 1984 to 1985 — the only Rammstein member to have done so. After his service, he applied to music school but was rejected for lacking skills beyond drumming; the exact year of rejection is not clearly 1985. He joined bands Keine Ahnung, Frechheit, Die Firma, and Feeling B before co-founding Tempel with Richard Kruspe and Oliver Riedel in 1994. After Till Lindemann joined, they won the Berlin Senate Metrobeat contest in 1994, earning a professional studio session. That same year, Paul Landers, who had joined before the contest, and Christian Lorenz, who joined after the contest, completed the lineup, and the band renamed to Rammstein.

In Their Own Story

Schneider's nickname 'Doom' came from the video game of the same name. He needed a name for the German copyright agency because too many Christoph Schneiders were already registered. Paul Landers suggested 'Doom' because they liked the game. In a 2010 interview, Schneider said if he had known the name would appear on every record he played on, he would have chosen a different one. He has been married twice: to Regina Gizatulina from 2005 to 2009, and to Ulrike Schmid since 2014, with whom he has three children. His favorite rock bands are Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Motörhead, Black Sabbath, and AC/DC. He cites Ian Paice, Phil Rudd, Vinnie Paul, and Chad Smith as his main drumming influences. He supports Bundesliga football club Union Berlin.

Reader's Guide

Schneider uses and endorses Sabian cymbals, DW drum kits, pedals and hardware, Vic Firth drumsticks, and Remo Drumheads. He previously used Sonor Drums, Tama Drums and Meinl cymbals. His current DW touring kit includes: DW Collector's Series Jazz drums with Maple/Gum shells in Matte Black Finish, featuring two 24x18 Bass Drums, a 13x10 Tom, 16x16 and 18x16 Floor Toms, a 21x16 Gong Drum, and two snare drums (12x5 and 14x6 Collector's Maple and Edge models). His Sabian cymbal setup includes 15" HHX Groove Hats (main), 15" Artisan Hats (auxiliary), a 22" AAX Heavy Ride, and various crashes and effects. He uses Vic Firth SCS Christoph Schneider Signature Drumsticks and Remo heads: Controlled sound X / Ambassador Snare Side for snare, Clear Pinstripe / Clear Diplomat for toms, and Clear Powerstroke P3 / Powerstroke P3 Ebony for bass drums.

Did You Know?

• Schneider is the only member of Rammstein to have served in the military, doing his national service with the East German Army from 1984 to 1985.
• His nickname 'Doom' was suggested by Paul Landers because they liked the video game of the same name, after Schneider found too many Christoph Schneiders already registered with the German copyright agency.
• Schneider built his first drum kit from tin cans and buckets before buying his first real drumkit at age 14.
• He was rejected from music school because he lacked musical skills other than drumming; the exact year of rejection is not clearly 1985.
• Schneider was a handball goalkeeper for four years during his youth.

Early Life and Musical Foundations

Schneider was born in Pankow, East Berlin. His father was an opera director and his mother a music teacher. He has a younger sister. During his youth, he was a handball goalkeeper for four years. He attended a special music school connected to a Pioneers' orchestra, where his parents wanted him to learn an instrument. He chose the trumpet first as it was the easiest to play. He described himself as a very talented trumpeter, joining the orchestra and playing concerts after a year. During his time in the orchestra, he became interested in playing the drums due to the size and equipment of the drum section and began building his own kit with tin cans and buckets. His parents were initially hesitant, but after he bought his first drumkit at age 14, they let him rehearse and take lessons. He left extended secondary school at age 16 and worked as a radio and telecommunications technician. In 1984, he served his national service with the East German Army. He is the only member of Rammstein to have served in the military.

Professional Trajectory and Band Formation

In 1985, Schneider quit his telecommunication job to pursue music and study music, but failed his admission test and was rejected due to lacking other musical skills than drumming. He then joined bands Keine Ahnung and Frechheit. In the late 1980s, he joined Die Firma, an underground new wave punk band with gothic influences, and became a member of punk band Feeling B in 1990. In 1993, Schneider joined Richard Kruspe and Oliver Riedel in forming a new project called Tempelprayers. After Till Lindemann joined the band, they entered the Berlin Senate Metrobeat contest and won a recording session in a professional studio in 1994. That same year, Schneider's former Feeling B bandmates Paul Landers and Christian Lorenz joined the band, which was then renamed to Rammstein.

Personal Identity and Private Life

Schneider's nickname 'Doom' comes from the video game of the same name. He needed a name for the German copyright agency, but discovered that there were too many Christoph Schneiders already registered. Paul Landers suggested the name 'Doom' because they liked the game. In a 2010 interview, Schneider said that if he had known that the name would appear on every record he played on, he would have chosen a different one. Schneider has been married twice. He was married to Regina Gizatulina from 2005 to 2009. He married his second wife, Ulrike Schmid, in 2014. Schneider and Schmid have three children. His favorite rock bands are Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Motörhead, Black Sabbath, and AC/DC. He cites Ian Paice, Phil Rudd, Vinnie Paul, and Chad Smith as his main drumming influences. Schneider is a supporter of Bundesliga football club Union Berlin.

Instrumentation and Technical Specifications

Schneider uses and endorses Sabian cymbals, DW drum kits, pedals and hardware, Vic Firth drumsticks, and Remo Drumheads. He previously used and endorsed Sonor Drums, Tama Drums and Meinl cymbals. His current DW touring kit consists of: DW Collector's Series Jazz, Maple/Gum shells, Matte Black Finish, with two 24x18 Bass Drums, a 13x10 Tom, 16x16 Floor Tom, 18x16 Floor Tom, 21x16 Gong Drum, 12x5 Collector's Maple Snare Drum, and 14x6 Collector's Edge Snare Drum. His Sabian cymbals include 15" HHX Groove Hats (main), 15" Artisan Hats (auxiliary), 22" AAX Heavy Ride, 20" AAX Medium Crash, 20" AAX X-Plosion Crash, 20" HHX X-Plosion Crash, 19" AAX X-Plosion Fast Crash, 21" AA Holy China, and 12" AAX Aero Splash over 12" AA Mini Holy China stack. He uses DW hardware, Vic Firth SCS Christoph Schneider Signature Drumsticks, and Remo Drumheads: Controlled sound X / Ambassador Snare Side for snare, Clear Pinstripe / Clear Diplomat for toms, and Clear Powerstroke P3 / Powerstroke P3 Ebony for bass drums.

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